Avon Lake Schools Respond to Chardon Shootings

The following is a statement sent to parents from the and Superintendent of Schools, Bob Scott regarding the Feb. 27 sxhool shootings in Chardon.

"By now almost everyone is aware of the at Chardon High School east of Cleveland. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families as well as the staff, students, and Chardon community. This incident will affect everyone involved for years to come.  

Violence in any setting, especially against children, is terrible but at a school it creates an atmosphere of fear which is long reaching and long lasting. At the very least parents and students should be able to expect their school to be a safe place. An incident like the one at Chardon can cast doubt on the safety of all schools.

The, staff, and area emergency experts continually work together to have plans in place to avoid incidents like the one that happened today in Chardon. We also have plans and procedures in place, such as our new ALICE program, to make sure students and staff are as safe as possible if an incident does occur. We hope that all of our planning and practicing is never needed, but we must be ready, the same as we are for a fire, a tornado or any other type of disaster that could put our students in jeopardy.

Our best defense against an incident such as what happened this morning is ongoing “vigilance.”  This vigilance is important for school staff, but students, parents and community members are a vital part of this safety net. Reporting changes in student behavior, reporting inappropriate social media posting, texts, tweets, or reporting suspicious comments, brags or boasts are all ways that incidents can be avoided before they happen.

Student safety is the first goal of Avon Lake School District. With the completion of our latest construction project and monitoring technology in place our buildings are safer that they have ever been. To ensure the safety of our children we must work together to be proactive when addressing all issues that negatively affect our kids.

Again, our hearts go out to the Chardon Community."